Patient Advocacy: Where Can You Find Help for LASIK Complications

Filed in archive Risks and Problems on March 13, 2010

No matter how safe refractive procedures like LASIK have become, and no matter what new technological developments have been made, there is always a very small but important percentage of patients who have persistent problems after refractive surgery. When you read their stories, often heart-breaking, of being unable to work or drive due to impaired vision, suffering headaches, nausea, vertigo due to visual distortions brought on by unsuccessful LASIK surgery, you might really begin to question if LASIK is the right answer to achieving 20/20 vision.

True, LASIK can change lives, but not always for the better. It's equally true that thousands of LASIK procedures have been performed successfully, with good results. That's why weighing the information, both good and bad, about LASIK is an important step to choosing whether or not to undergo refractive surgery.

When things go wrong, what can you do?
There are several patient advocacy organizations out there, some accessible on the internet. USAEyes, a non-profit LASIK patient advocacy and information website, has an excellent LASIK forum where patients can discuss the problems they're encountering and get not only moral support from fellow complication sufferers, but perhaps good advice or confirmation of treatment procedures and information that you're getting from your doctor while you go through the healing process.